Video: Lord of the Rings, DC Heroes Get Lego-fied

Not content just to brickify the worlds of Star Wars, Harry Potter and Indiana Jones, Lego is expanding into even more beloved nerd universes. At E3, Warner Bros. will show two major new entries in the cooperative action game franchise: Lego Batman 2 and Lego Lord of the Rings.

Lego Batman 2, despite the name, will actually bring together the entire pantheon of DC superheroes and villains. Even better, it’s an open-world game — the traditional linear levels are connected by a city hub that you can roam around in. It’s like Arkham City but, you know, for kids! You can fly around as Superman and the iconic movie music plays. Yes.

But perhaps the bigger news is Lego Lord of the Rings, which will use dialog pulled directly from the movies.

Wired spoke to Jonathan Smith, head of production at developer TT Games, to learn more about the new additions to these upcoming games. Lego Batman 2 will be released in the summer, and Lego Lord of the Rings in the fall.